Dark, onyx-coloured metal panels lay above me as my eyes fluttered open. A cold metallic sensation pressed against my whole back as I lay on the floor.
It was mostly quiet.
Wind howled from somewhere nearby as it cut into my naked flesh with its icy claws and blew through my ears. A wave of unnaturally clean, fresh air invaded my lungs along with the cold gust of wind.
I didn't sit up immediately. Freezing my ass off aside, it didn't seem like I was in any danger. I wanted to enjoy the moment of peace for a bit and sort out some of my thoughts before presumably marching towards my untimely death once again.
I felt clear-headed. No dizziness, no confusion - I was simply wide awake all of a sudden. Instead of aches and soreness covering my entire body, the fading warmth of a gentle embrace lingered around me. Despite having put all Olympians to shame with my near-death performance, I felt fine. I had a feeling the strange, brightly illuminated space I was in had something to do with that.
I thought back to what happened in the final moments back in that place.
I was more or less prepared to die there, since I pretty much had no chance against that thing. But then that beautiful, I repeat BEAUTIFUL System graced my ears with that cathartic news. I also got two juicy pieces of information from the System.
'Hey, what were the last messages you left me?'
The System calmly replayed the notifications it had given me earlier.
[30 minutes survived within the Forest of Forsaken Souls]
[Please head to the exit within the center of Fleshrot Crossroads]
'Forest of Forsaken Souls and Fleshrot Crossroads, huh...'
Forest of Forsaken Souls doesn't tell me an insane amount. It was a forest, but the Forsaken Souls part left me a little lost. My personal theory is that the Peacekeepers mentioned in Raxon's letter forsook the people of that village, later earning the surrounding forest the name Forest of Forsaken Souls.
But why was the name so ominous? Why not name it after the only slightly eye-catching sight of piles of flesh-sucking trees dry? Better yet, why not name it after the thousands of pillars made out of blood!?
There was definitely more to that place than I figured out. I didn't have enough information at the moment to piece everything together, however.
Fleshrot Crossroads seemed like the name derived from the Gore Mountain of Maws, the people of the village turned into, or it could have been the original name of the place. Then again, with only a slightly alarming naming sense like that, I'd consider leaving those people for dead, too.
I put my thoughts to rest for now. I could ponder as I explore. It was time to get up. I couldn't enjoy this peace forever.
I raised my now slightly larger and more powerful scarlet body up as I observed the surroundings.
Flickering lights illuminated the hallway I was in, occasionally leaving me in pitch darkness. A tough, metallic onyx material lined the walls of the already narrow corridor, further compressing the space. Elegant engravings ran along the surfaces of alloy doors, which stretched down the hallway. A dim glow emanated from the engravings, lighting the hallway while the lights occasionally flickered out.
I had no idea where I was, but if I had to make a guess, this was the Inner Layer. The System had said "Middle Layer Trial qualifications met" before the reaper started hunting me down, like cattle. Since my corpse hadn't been squashed into a pancake by that thing's overweight bowling ball, I assumed I had passed the Trial and was now in the Inner Layer, most likely.
Regardless of where I was, I had to keep moving.
Behind me, the onyx metal covering the wall was blown outwards, letting in a constant stream of cold winds. Rapidly flying snowflakes passed by the opening, creating a wall of impenetrable white. It seemed like something had smashed this open.
I cautiously approached the opening, and a frosty sensation enveloped my entire being as I tried to take a peek outside. Shivers ran down my body as an icy grip took hold of my being, almost paralyzing me on the spot. I couldn't see through the veil of white, so I quickly stepped back.
'That blizzard's not normal. I almost froze on the spot from just standing there.'
I quickly warmed up, since the hallway was surprisingly well-heated despite the giant mass of cold air and snow pouring in from the opening. I decided to avoid any openings I saw in the future. I glared down the hallway once again as I contemplated.
'Still no sign of them. I'm really starting to miss them now.'
That's right. Strong as I was now, I needed my bodyguards! With that in mind, I began moving, with the slim hope of running into them.
I began slowly treading down the flickering hallway, admiring the intricately engraved patterns on the alloy doors. Yet again, my gamer instincts wanted to thoroughly plunder every room within sight for an unnecessary amount of loot. I tried opening them, but no luck, and I doubt I was strong enough to bust any of them down.
I continued down the hallway with a forlorn expression.
The eerie, monotone hallways began merging at crossroads. I had no idea where to go, and one path didn't seem more dangerous than the other, so I continued forward through the flickering show of lights. The endless sea of onyx and alloy doors continued, all blending into one corridor.
The hallways I chose twisted and turned on themselves, making my head spin. It was like I was in a maze. The metallic onyx walls and alloy doors remained present at every turn, making me lose my sense of direction. I couldn't even find my naturally air-conditioned starting point.
I felt my mind growing bored as I walked through the endlessly repeating dark hallways. Only the sound of my footsteps bouncing off the walls and fading down into the depths of the hallway sounded around me. I saw no Fracturebeasts, no open doors, no open spaces - nothing. Just rows of hallways and doors.
I drifted into my own thoughts once again, recalling the events right before ending up here.
The final moment of the chase stood vividly in my mind.
The smiling, robed figure with a disfigured claw stretching out of its back. It could have freely killed me as I flew through the air, but it didn't. Finally, the sweet embrace of the strange light.
It was...humbling.
That thing could have killed me at any given point had it just used that claw on its back, but it didn't. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I survived, and I got a present.
I got humbled.
"Why is that a good thing?" I hear the voices in my head asking. It keeps you alive. After I unlocked that System and became stronger, I was bound to unknowingly become slightly cocky at some point. It was a good thing to be brought back down to Earth so quickly. And trust me, the Grim Reaper himself chasing me through the forest was a bare minimum. It wouldn't have worked otherwise.
I was still weak, and it was good to remember that. I thought back to the reaper itself.
As curious as I was about that chained Grim Reaper, I had no idea what it was. All I knew was that it was strong as hell, and that I was lucky to survive.
As I was about to drift further off into my own thoughts, a slight change occurred in the air. A familiar metallic scent breached my nostrils, making my monster mind begin screaming in delight. I suppressed the monster's instincts and continued moving, carefully observing my surroundings.
I passed by rows of alloy doors and flickering lights without change until I reached another crossroads. In front of me and on my left sat the already well recognizable endless onyx hallways with flickering lights. Towards my right, however, was pure darkness.
Complete darkness enveloped the right hallway as if it were hiding something in its depths. Lowering my gaze, I finally noticed it. On the ground, for as far as my nocturnal eyes could see, was a sea of never-ending crimson heading into the depths of the dark hallway.
I looked towards the ceiling and sighed.
'Decisions, decisions. The two very nicely lit hallways, or, hear me out, the only damn hallway I've seen without any lights, with an only slightly unusual ocean of blood lacing its path. I mean, I was just in a forest made entirely out of blood, so it can't be that bad, right? Indeed, this is no easy choice to make,' I mocked to myself.
I took another deep breath and sealed my fate as my feet splashed into the crimson of the unlit, ominous hallway. Luckily, there was a silver lining to all this.
'[Blood Dive] saves the day yet again.'
Although I was slightly hesitant to use it now, since that chained reaper had proven it wasn't completely fool-proof, for all I knew, some other higher Rank Fracturebeasts could freely detect me as well. I was quite certain that the chained reaper I met was not of the Gifted Rank, however. It felt way too powerful, and I just couldn't see any low Rank Fracturebeasts having something like a giant claw sprouting from their back. Not to mention, it seemed way too conscious and intelligent.
I continued down the blood-soaked hallway, hoping to find anything, really.
After splashing through the blood-soaked hallway for a couple of minutes, I spotted something.
There, in the darkness of the bloody hallway, the outline of a woman stood with a light in hand. I carefully moved closer until I got a good look at her.
A floating orb of light illuminated her graceful figure, highlighting her battered ivory armour and soft, bloodied porcelain skin. The snow-white hair cascading down her neck had long become dishevelled and dirty, with no resemblance to its former luster. Her calm, mirror-like eyes reflected the world back in on itself as she steadily scanned the surrounding darkness. A basket-hilted sword was firmly gripped in her hands, its tip draped in murky scarlet, steadily dripping into the sea of crimson below.
Behind her, the belly of a Fracturebeast stood out, a long frosty gash running along its length with no flowing crimson.
Before I could ponder the strange wound, her gaze flickered towards me in the darkness as she heard me accidentally splash some blood.
I quickly dove into the embrace of the ethereal blood space, which I had long grown used to, and my vision turned crimson. Seemingly noticing nothing, she averted her gaze.
I had found the insane woman.